Jointing or pointing tool

ABSTRACT

The present invention discloses a device ( 100 ) for abrading or removing material from a joint or groove by means of at least one abrasive area ( 30 ) provided at a rib ( 20 ) associated with a main body ( 10 ).

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of international (WO) patent application no. PCT/DE2016/100292, filed 27 Jun. 2016, which claims

-   -   the priority of German (DE) patent application no. 10 2015 110         374.5, filed 26 Jun. 2015,     -   the priority of German (DE) patent application no. 10 2015 111         766.5, filed 20 Jul. 2015,     -   the priority of German (DE) patent application no. 10 2015 113         249.4, filed 11 Aug. 2015, and     -   the priority of German (DE) patent application no. 10 2015 115         571.0, filed 15 Sep. 2015, the contents of each of which being         hereby incorporated herein by reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to the technical field of abrading or removing material from a joint or groove, in particular of purging a joint or groove.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Conventional joint- or groove-scrapers are for example disclosed in the document DE 20 2015 000 759 U1. Reference can further be made to the documents US 2013/0312271 A1, U.S. Pat. No. 4,064,588, US 2009/0133890 A1, US 2010/0313375 A1, U.S. Pat. No. 6,023,811, DE 10 2004 063 828 A1, DE 20 2014 008 129U1 and DE 20 2015 000 759 U1.

However, such equipment is relatively inflexible to use, for example in terms of the width of the joint or groove to be treated; apart from that, the handling of such equipment is—especially for inexperienced users and/or end-consumers—rather uncomfortable.

OBJECTS AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Taking the outlined prior art into account the object of the present invention is to further develop a device according to the preamble of claim 1 in such a way that the above-mentioned disadvantages and inadequacies are avoided.

This object is achieved by a device according to the invention with the herein described features. Advantageous embodiments and expedient further developments of the present invention are described above and below.

This object is achieved by a device for abrading or removing material from a joint or groove by means of at least one abrasive area provided at a rib associated with a main body.

This object is further achieved by an embodiment according to the invention wherein the main body is embodied as a wedge or a three-dimensional trapezium.

This object is further achieved by an embodiment according to the invention wherein the main body comprises, in particular for damping purposes,

-   -   at least one air chamber in its inner part and/or     -   at least one indentation on its outside.

This object is further achieved by an embodiment according to the invention wherein the indentation is circumferential.

This object is further achieved by an embodiment according to the invention wherein the abrasive area's side averted from the joint or groove is melted into the rib.

This object is further achieved by an embodiment according to the invention wherein the abrasive area's side averted from the joint or groove is melted into the surface of the rib.

This object is further achieved by an embodiment according to the invention wherein the abrasive area's side averted from the joint or groove is melted into the rib by means of ultrasonic welding.

This object is further achieved by an embodiment according to the invention wherein the abrasive area's side averted from the joint or groove is glued on the rib.

This object is further achieved by an embodiment according to the invention wherein the abrasive area's side averted from the joint or groove is thermally or thermoplastically fixed at the rib.

This object is further achieved by an embodiment according to the invention wherein the abrasive area is embodied as a substrate at least sectionally or at least partially provided with abrasive material.

This object is further achieved by an embodiment according to the invention wherein the abrasive material comprises bort.

This object is further achieved by an embodiment according to the invention wherein the abrasive material comprises ceramic splinters.

This object is further achieved by an embodiment according to the invention wherein the substrate comprises a tissue carrier tape.

This object is further achieved by an embodiment according to the invention wherein the abrasive material is isle- or field-wise arranged on the abrasive area and the abraded or removed material is dispatchable between the respective isles or fields.

This object is further achieved by an embodiment according to the invention wherein the rib is insertable into a recess of the main body and fixable in the recess.

This object is further achieved by an embodiment according to the invention wherein the recess is embodied as furrow or as receptive shaft.

This object is further achieved by an embodiment according to the invention wherein the rib is disengageably fixable in the recess.

This object is further achieved by an embodiment according to the invention wherein the rib is essentially T-shaped and the rib's region averted from the abrasive area is form-fittingly receivable in the recess.

This object is further achieved by an embodiment according to the invention wherein the rib's side averted from the abrasive area comprises at its one end at least one snap-in nose.

This object is further achieved by an embodiment according to the invention wherein the at least one snap-in nose is arranged at the rib's front end in terms of the working direction.

This object is further achieved by an embodiment according to the invention wherein the rib's section comprising the snap-in nose is elastically supported in relation to the rest of the rib.

This object is further achieved by an embodiment according to the invention wherein the snap-in nose

-   -   is engageable into a notch provided in the recess when the rib         is inserted in the recess and     -   is disengageable from the notch by pressing a region at the end         of the rib in order that the rib can be pulled out of the         recess.

This object is further achieved by an embodiment according to the invention wherein the notch is embodied as transverse furrow.

This object is further achieved by an embodiment according to the invention wherein the region at the end of the rib is fluted.

This object is further achieved by an embodiment according to the invention wherein the region protrudes beyond the main body at the rib's end, in particular front end in terms of the working direction, when the rib is inserted in the recess.

This object is further achieved by an embodiment according to the invention wherein the rib's region facing the abrasive area comprises a protrusion at one of its two ends or at both ends opposite the main body.

This object is further achieved by an embodiment according to the invention wherein the rib's region facing the abrasive area is slanted or angled or bent or curved at one of its two ends or at both ends.

This object is further achieved by an embodiment according to the invention wherein the rib's region facing the abrasive area is angled by about 45 degrees at one of its two ends or at both ends.

This object is further achieved by an embodiment according to the invention wherein the rib's region facing the abrasive area is circularly bent at one of its two ends or at both ends.

According to the present invention, it is provided a tool for, in particular manually, purging joints or grooves

-   -   by means of removal of cementitious joint or groove material,         especially in joints between tiles, panels, natural stone or         mosaics, or     -   for removal of joint or groove material, said removal being         effective in terms of depth, in order to regrout, in particular         without chemical admixtures or cleaning agents.

Unlike conventional joint- or groove-scrapers, a stable and perceptible guide is obtained by the apposite guidance in the joint or groove, by the conical support of the abraded surface and by the soft bearing of the abrasive, in particular on a hard rubber base, in order to guarantee a fine and uniform removal of joint or groove material.

According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the abrasive surface is glued and/or thermally, in particular thermoplastically, fixed at the respective rib.

Alternatively, during the production process of the ribs the rear side of the abrasive area or grinding area can be melted into the surface by way of the so-called back injection method, thus sparing the adhesive technique. Also the ultrasonic wave method or ultrasonic welding can be used under ideal conditions.

The working rib, having in particular a length of about 10 cm to about 14 cm, for example of about 11 cm or of about 13 cm, is a long-life precision tool which is also useful for improving deficiently done jointings.

Correspondingly, the length of the abrasive area, in particular about 10 cm to about 14 cm, for example about 11 cm or about 13 cm, enables an apposite applying of the tool in the joint or groove and facilitates stable support in the joint or groove.

The risk that the rib may slip off or burst out of the joint or groove is significantly reduced by the longitudinal extension of the rib. Due to the length and the stable support of the rib with its abrasive material it can be avoided that too much material is abraded and/or that material is abraded in an non-uniform way in terms of the extension of the joint or groove.

In this context, the surface of the tool, in particular the abrasive surface, cannot become clogged due to the grain isles being distributed and dispersed on the surface.

The main body or corpus of the instrument or of the tool may preferably be made of in form-foamed, harder or softer plastics, in particular of ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA) or polyethylene-based (PE), optionally with an amount of (natural) cork in the granule and/or optionally with colour(s) added.

According to an advantageous improvement of the present invention the body or corpus may be produced by means of injection molding, i.e. hollow in its inner part and provided with a cover, for example with a back cover in terms of the working direction.

Supplementally, the main body or corpus may be modified such that it comprises at least one air chamber facilitating a comfortable working and enabling the grinding pressure in any intensity.

Independently thereof or in connection therewith, the main body or corpus may comprise a circumferential, in particular double, indentation with damping function.

In an expedient improvement of the present invention the inner part of the main body or corpus may be provided with a sound-absorbing material, for example made of fleece, in order to enable a noise-reduced and thus more comfortable working.

The handy main body or corpus may—not in the first place for reasons of design—may be slender or slim in order to be able to reach difficult-to-access regions. By the above-described damping, the subject-matter of the application gets at the same time a modern shaping and an excellent grip when using the tool.

Furthermore an easy reception of ribs with different heights, with different widths, with different shapings and/or with different abrasive configurations may be enabled. Thereby, a slim or broad rib with easy clicking system, for example in the form of a buckle closure may be, depending on the requirements mounted, in a notch in the handle-type main part (=main body or corpus).

Additionally, defining the working depth is enabled by providing such exchangable ribs with variabel heights for example of two millimetres, of three millimetres and of four millimetres. Providing such a exchange possibility for the abrasively provided rib has a synergetic effect in particular in connection with a damping, for example with one or two damping or buffer members in the handle-type main part.

At one end or at both ends, the abrasively provided rib may slightly protrude beyond the handle-type main part in order to enable the user to see whether and, if yes, where the rib is situated in the joint to be treated. Such a protrusion of the rib beyond the handle part on one side or on both sides also enables a treating of difficult-to-access regions, for example of edge regions and/or of corners.

The abrasively flocked rib enables a working under dry as well as moisty or wet conditions wherein the removal is higher in the latter case.

Independently thereof or in connection therewith, the rib may advantageously be made of plastics, in particular of ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA), or of rubber, in particular of hard rubber.

Independently thereof or in connection therewith, the abrasive area may expediently be

-   -   galvanized as bort-provided surface of a substrate, for example         on nickel areas, or     -   of a ceramic splinter surface on a tissue carrier tape.

The use of extremely hard materials such as diamond or ceramic in different grain sizes enables a continuous and fast working and guarantees a long lifetime so that the present invention provides a long-life precision tool by using premium industrial bort.

In particular, the abrasive area may be formed of nickel-bound circular fields which are galvanically applied with bort in variable grain sizes, for example in categorized grain size 50 or in categorized grain size 60. The fields may diagonally run on the basis, in particular on a tissue or on a plastic adhesive surface, namely in particular in a small distance to the respectively next field.

In an alternative embodiment, the abrasive area may be diamond-flocked continuously and/or with varying distances between the single grinding modules.

In an embodiment alternative to the abrasive area, the rib may be provided in a joint- or groove brush way with brush material comprising harder or softer bristles, for example of a length of about two millimetres to about four millimetres.

Basically, in a preferred embodiment of the present invention working ribs of different heights and/or of different widths are provided depending on the depth, width and/or hardness of the joint or groove wherein the grain of the abrasive area of the working rib is variabel.

According to an expedient improvement of the present invention, the rib may be embodied in different heigths and may, depending on the requirements of the joint width, be coated in thin stripes having a width of about two millimetres to about five millimetres, for example with long stripes, be it continuously coated or disruptively coated (at the circular fields: for example about 0.5 mm distance to the next field).

The correspondingly formed slim working area is thus bort-provided or similarly abrasive and either continuously coated or provided with disruptively coated fields in order to enable the removal of the abraded material between the single fields.

Alternatively or supplementally, a small dust bag or dust collector or vacuum cleaner may be allocated to the subject-matter of the application in order to catch the accumulating dirt or dust when abrading joint or groove material.

Different selecting options concerning the width of the abrasive grinding working area provide an apposite support in the joint picture. Manually conducted, the total joint width may be treated in one draw. The effect is a quick and clean abrading of the desired area and joint depth.

The rib provided with the abrasive area is preferably formed of elastic, slightly resilient material in order to be able to choose the grinding pressure on the area to be treated individually and depending on the requirements:

On the one hand, an uncontrolled removal of joint material is thus avoided; on the other hand, the risk is thereby reduced that ceramic material, glaze, glass or natural stone surfaces adjacent to the joint or groove or generally adjacent materials are damaged.

The front end of the rib and/or the back end of the abrasively provided rib may be slanted or angled, for example by 45 degrees, or bent, for example circular, or curved:

By this, it is on the one hand avoided that the abrasive area may be quickly pulled off; thus, the lifetime of the tool is increased. On the other hand, the work in corners and at the end of the treated joint, for example in room corners or connections to silicon joints, is improved by this technical measure. The slanted edges may also be provided with abrasive area.

Such an expediently slightly conical embodiment of the rib on the main body or corpus additionally facilitates the apposite applying in the joint or groove. In addition, when applying into the joint or groove, certainty is obtained in the side view that the tool is exactly applied in the joint or groove and/or is exactly born there when starting work.

Since the abrasive area, including the rib becoming slightly narrower in the tool's part more to the front, is plunged in the joint or groove when gently pressed down, the thus effected secure guidance reduces the risk to slide out of the joint or groove. By this contact between the main body or corpus and the surrounding material, for example on the surface of a tile or of a natural stone, a lateral or sidewise lurching of the tool in the joint or groove is avoided.

The main body or corpus thus slides without tottering through the joint or groove and thus gives a perceivable feeling of working safety. This facilitates inter alia the remarkably higher working speed compared to other joint or groove cleaning methods as well as the more proper result.

For regions, such as for example mounted shower bars, corners with oblique angles or diagonally installed floorings, it may be possible not to get into the joints or joint corners with the tool or not to reach the end of the joint. Therefor, a further instrument may be added to the product contents:

This very simple hand instrument in the form of a pen with the size of about a plastic or metal pencil ends in a ball sitting in a ball bearing. A rib of hard plastic, provided with abrasive area like at the actual tool, is fixed at this ball bearing, in the same style but without any soft support. Therewith, any difficult-to-reach regions are reached. Here it is possible to design the rib at the ball bearing in an exchangable manner and to offer differently abrasive stripes. The pen may be obtained as additional tool or may be added to the actual device according to the present invention.

The present invention provides manifold application and use possibilities:

-   -   extensive removal or cleaning of joints up to a depth of about         five millimetres         -   >possibility to regrout tile areas;     -   when selecting a higher rib, joint or groove material up to the         respectively required depth may be abraded in order to enable         regrout work; here, there is the possibility to deliver a joint         colour card;     -   scratching out parting lines and movement joints, vertically and         horizontally;     -   reworking scruffy joint or groove works;     -   abrading of protrusions of joint or groove material;     -   levelling of joints or grooves;     -   cleaning of mosaics or groove tiles, for example steps with         milled-in notch, or the like;     -   scratching out of rests of adhesives.

The subject-matter of the application may also be operated electrically, for example by mounting the abrasive (changable) area by means of the rib on an oscillating or back-and-forth moving installation in the main body or corpus.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

As already discussed hereinbefore, there are various possibilities for embodying and further developing the teaching of the present invention in an advantageous manner. To this end, on the one hand reference is made to the explanations above and to the dependent claims, and on the other hand further embodiments, features and advantages of the present invention are explained in greater detail hereinafter, inter alia based upon the four exemplary embodiments illustrated by FIG. 1A to FIG. 4C.

It is shown in:

FIG. 1A in schematic front view a first exemplary embodiment of a device according to the present invention;

FIG. 1B in schematic rear view the device of FIG. 1A;

FIG. 1C in schematic side view the device of FIG. 1A and FIG. 1B;

FIG. 1D in schematic perspective view the device of FIG. 1A to FIG. 1C;

FIG. 2A in schematic front view a second exemplary embodiment of a device according to the present invention;

FIG. 2B in schematic rear view the device of FIG. 2A;

FIG. 2C in schematic side view the device of FIG. 2A and FIG. 2B;

FIG. 2D in schematic perspective view from below the device of FIG. 2A to FIG. 2C;

FIG. 2E in schematic perspective view from above the device of FIG. 2A to FIG. 2D;

FIG. 3A in schematic perspective view a main body or corpus of a third exemplary embodiment of a device according to the present invention;

FIG. 3B in schematic bottom view the main body or corpus of FIG. 3A;

FIG. 3C in schematic perspective view a rib of the third exemplary embodiment of the device according to the present invention;

FIG. 3D in schematic perspective view a detailed view of the, in terms of the working direction, front section of the rib of FIG. 3C;

FIG. 3E in schematic side view the rib of FIG. 3C and FIG. 3D;

FIG. 3F in schematic perspective view the rib of FIG. 3C to FIG. 3E;

FIG. 4A in schematic side view a rib of the fourth exemplary embodiment of the device according to the present invention;

FIG. 4B in schematic front view a main body or corpus of the fourth exemplary embodiment of the device according to the present invention; and

FIG. 4C in schematic side view the fourth exemplary embodiment with the rib of FIG. 4A and with the main body or corpus of FIG. 4B.

Like or similar embodiments, elements or features are provided with identical reference signs in FIG. 1A to FIG. 4C.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

In order to avoid unnecessary repetitions, the explanations below relate to

-   -   the first exemplary embodiment of the present invention         illustrated on the basis of FIG. 1A to FIG. 1D,     -   the second exemplary embodiment of the present invention         illustrated on the basis of FIG. 2A to FIG. 2E,     -   the third exemplary embodiment of the present invention         illustrated on the basis of FIG. 3A to FIG. 3F, and     -   the fourth exemplary embodiment of the present invention         illustrated on the basis of FIG. 4A to FIG. 4C     -   with respect to the configurations, features and advantages of         the present invention—unless otherwise indicated.

The device 100 illustrated on the basis of FIG. 1A to FIG. 4C serves to abrade or remove material from a joint or groove by means of an abrasive area 30 provided at a rib 20, said rib 20 being allocated to a main body 10 embodied as a wedge or a three-dimensional trapezium.

For damping purposes, the main body 10 comprises in its inner part two air chambers 12 according to the first exemplary embodiment (cf. FIG. 1A to FIG. 1D). Alternatively, the main body 10 comprises on its outside for damping purposes two circumferential indentations 14 according to the second exemplary embodiment (cf. FIG. 2A to FIG. 2E).

The side of the abrasive area 30 which is averted from the joint or groove can be melted into the surface of the rib 20, for example by means of ultrasonic welding. Alternatively, the side of the abrasive area 30 which is averted from the joint or groove can be glued and/or thermally, in particular thermoplastically, fixed at the rib 20.

The abrasive area 30 of the rib 20 is embodied as a substrate, in particular a tissue carrier tape, which is at least sectionally or at least partially provided with abrasive material, in particular with bort and/or with ceramic splinters, wherein the abrasive material can be arranged isle- or field-wise on the abrasive area 30 in order that the abraded or removed material can be dispatched between the respective isles or fields.

The third exemplary embodiment according to FIG. 3A to FIG. 3F comprises an exchangable rib 20. Therefor, the essentially T-shaped rib 20 is inserted into a notch-type recess 16 of the main body 10, said recess 16 being embodied as a receptive shaft. The region of the rib 20 which is averted from the abrasive area 30 is disengageably fixed in the recess 16 of the main body 10 in a form-fitting way.

As can be taken in particular from the detailed view in FIG. 3D, the side of the rib 20 which is averted from the abrasive area 30 comprises at its, in terms of the working direction, front end a snap-in nose 22, said side being embodied as elastically mounted tongue within an isolated area. The snap-in nose 22 engages into a notch 18 (to the left in FIG. 3B) provided in the recess 16 when the rib 20 is inserted in the recess 16, said notch 18 being embodied as transverse furrow.

The rib 20 can be disengaged, namely pulled out of the recess 16, by pressing a fluted region 24 at the, in terms of the working direction, front end of the rib 20, said region 24 being adjacent to the snap-in nose 22, for example for inserting and fixing another or a fresh or new rib 20 in the recess 16.

By means of the snap-in nose 22, it can also be avoided that the rib 20 is inserted into the recess 16 in the wrong direction. For avoiding such maloperation, the rib 20 may be provided with at least one marking, for example with at least one arrow, indicating the correct insertion direction.

In order to be able to better grasp the fluted region 24, said fluted region 24 protrudes beyond the main body 10 at the, in terms of the working direction, front end of the rib 20 when the rib 20 is inserted in the recess 16.

As a result, the third exemplary embodiment according to FIG. 3A to FIG. 3F thus discloses the possibility to replace or change the rib 20 assigned to the main corpus 10 which is enabled by the form-fitting reception of the rib 20 (cf. FIG. 3C to FIG. 3F) in the essentially T-shaped recess (=receptive shaft 16) of the main corpus 10 (cf. FIG. 3A and FIG. 3B).

In the fourth exemplary embodiment according to FIG. 4A to FIG. 4C, the option is illustrated to exchange the abrasive area 30 at the rib 20 by means of a clamp-like clicking system 28.

LIST OF REFERENCE SKINS

100 device

10 main body or corpus

12 air chamber

14 indentation

16 recess, in particular furrow or receptive shaft

18 notch, in particular transverse furrow

20 rib

22 snap-in nose

24 region at the end of the rib 20

26 protrusion of the rib's 20 region facing the abrasive area 30 at one of its two ends or at both ends opposite to the main body or corpus 10

28 clicking system, in particular clamp-like clicking system

30 abrasive area 

1. Device for abrading or removing material from a joint or groove by means of at least one abrasive area provided at a rib associated with a main body.
 2. Device according to claim 1 wherein the main body is embodied as a wedge or a three-dimensional trapezium.
 3. Device according to claim 1 wherein the main body comprises at least one air chamber in its inner part or at least one indentation on its outside.
 4. Device according to claim 1 wherein the abrasive area's side averted from the joint or groove is melted into the rib.
 5. Device according to claim 1 wherein the abrasive area's side averted from the joint or groove is glued at the rib.
 6. Device according to claim 1 wherein the abrasive area is embodied as a substrate at least sectionally or at least partially provided with abrasive material.
 7. Device according to claim 6 wherein the abrasive material comprises bort or ceramic splinters.
 8. Device according to claim 6 wherein the abrasive material is isle- or field-wise arranged on the abrasive area and the abraded or removed material is dispatchable between the respective isles or fields.
 9. Device according to claim 6 wherein the substrate comprises a tissue carrier tape.
 10. Device according to claim 1 wherein the rib is insertable into a recess of the main body and fixable in the recess.
 11. Device according to claim 10 wherein the rib is essentially T-shaped and the rib's region averted from the abrasive area is form-fittingly receivable in the recess.
 12. Device according to claim 1 wherein the rib's side averted from the abrasive area comprises at its one end at least one snap-in nose.
 13. Device according to claim 12 wherein the at least one snap-in nose is arranged at the rib's front end in terms of the working direction.
 14. Device according to claim 12 wherein the rib's section comprising the at least one snap-in nose is elastically supported in relation to the rest of the rib.
 15. Device according to claim 10 wherein the snap-in nose is engageable into a notch provided in the recess when the rib is inserted in the recess and is disengageable from the notch by pressing a region at the end of the rib in order that the rib can be pulled out of the recess.
 16. Device according to claim 15 wherein the region protrudes beyond the main body at the rib's front end in terms of the working direction when the rib is inserted in the recess.
 17. Device according to claim 12 wherein the snap-in nose is engageable into a notch provided in the recess when the rib is inserted in the recess and is disengageable from the notch by pressing a region at the end of the rib in order that the rib can be pulled out of the recess.
 18. Device according to claim 17 wherein the region protrudes beyond the main body at the rib's front end in terms of the working direction when the rib is inserted in the recess.
 19. Device according to claim 1 wherein the rib's region facing the abrasive area comprises a protrusion at one of its two ends or at both ends opposite the main body.
 20. Device according to claim 1 wherein the rib's region facing the abrasive area is slanted or angled or bent or curved at one of its two ends or at both ends. 